Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 305

Secret of the Shanghai Wall
Sha Tin College, Lai, Rachel - 13
I
was born into a small city cut away from the outside world, my city was big but you can only ever get so far, eventually
to be stopped by a towering thirty three feet brick wall. I lived with Mother, she would tell me to never venture beyond
the wall, never peak at the outside world, never touch the wall for there are unknown dangers lurking in every corner.
As a ten year old, I obeyed. However, I was curious, I dream of leaving this confining city, and I did. Unfortunately, I was
unaware of the life-changing mistake I had made.
The older I got the more I was consumed by my curiosity, until finally I couldn’t resist the urge to ask Mother. She was
sitting in the kitchen, I tapped her on the shoulder, she jerked her face at me, “Yes?” she asked. “Mother, what is it about
this wall, why is it so...” but she didn’t let me finish “Why are you asking about the wall?” She screamed, slamming her
hands on the wooden table, causing it to tremble. I flinched in response, Mother continued to shriek at me, speechless I
stood there, not knowing what to do. Eventually, she stopped, her chest heaving from all the words she had screamed.
I slumped onto my bed, sinking my head into the pillow and bawled like a baby. Out of nowhere, there was a knock on
the door that made me jump, the door slowly creaked open, it was Mother. “Ming, I’m sorry, but I cannot let you leave the
walls, they are here to keep us safe.” she explained. She let out a deep distressed sigh “I should have told you this years ago,
but your father did not leave for a job, he was kidnapped, I saw the pirates drag him away, this all happened because he
ventured beyond the wall” Mother stuttered. I opened my mouth to protest but she cut me off “I am only trying to keep
you safe, you just need to understand.” and with that she stood up and walked out the door.
Trying to process everything Mother told me kept up all night. The lie my Mother had confessed to was too big for me
to ignore; I didn’t know how to react, but the one thing I knew for certain was tomorrow morning I am going to that wall.
The following day, I did exactly what I wanted to do from the very beginning, I leaped out of bed, got ready and was out
the door in seconds, making sure I don’t bump into Mother. I may have been to this location multiple times before but I
have never came in contact with the wall simply because I was told not to. I raised my hand, without hesitation I touched
the coarse brick surface. I couldn’t help but let out a massive grin of satisfaction. Mother was wrong, it was a harmless wall.
Just as I was about to get up and leave, something caught my eye, abruptly I turned around and saw a gaping hole just at
the bottom of the wall. Intrigued, I inched towards it bending down, it was surprisingly big. If it was any bigger I may just
be able to squeeze through. Then, I spotted a shovel.
I tumbled out dusting myself off, and looked up. I gasped in awe, the breathtaking view left me speechless. Staggering
alongside the endless rows of buildings, my gaze fixated on my surroundings. Out of nowhere, I hit something hard and
tripped to the ground with a thud. I looked up and realised I had bumped into a man. His complexion was pale with jet
black eyes, his hair slicked back, beard messy and ungroomed. Behind him, five identical looking men loomed over me
with intimidation. In an instant, I felt the urge to flee, but I couldn’t help but notice how similar I looked to him. He
smiled, oddly sending shivers down my spine. Nevertheless, I smiled back. “Why the long face little boy? My name is
Captain Lin, but you can call me Lin.” He paused for a second, frustrated with my silence he said “Well how rude, what
is your name?”